Lines As-Q
by Dave Hines
Summary: The author finds himself cast into Stephen Ratliff's "Marrissaverse" by Q. Hijinks ensue.


Marrissa's Revenge Theatre 3000: Lines As-Q.  
  
Hi everyone.  
  
This will be my first non-MiSTing fanfic, so be gentle with me.  
  
Upon reading some of the hilariously funny MiSTings that have resulted from  
the work of Stephen Ratliff, I pondered, "What would be the result if I  
should happen to enter into this world?". I thought this during my reading  
of "Marrissa's Revenge II", a non-canon work in which Marrissa herself  
comes to Stephen's house to announce her plans to take revenge on those  
who have MiSTed the Marrissa Stories. I am one of those authors. The  
concept is an "alternate universe" version of myself is mysteriously  
transported to the future, to the U.S.S. Endeavour, under the command of  
Captain Marrissa Amber Flores Picard. Naturally, hijinks ensue. Let's watch.  
  
For continuity buffs, this story occurs just prior to Anne-Lise Paush's  
work, "Generations 2: Generations Ahead" (which was MiSTed by yours truly,  
but I digress) for Marrissa and late January 1999 for Dave.  
  
Code wise, here's what we're dealing with:  
  
alt.startrek.creative code: TNG, [PG], The Marrissa Stories (unofficial)  
  
Web Site #9 MiSTing Codes: MST, SELF, SR, TNG, X-OVER  
  
Dedications:  
  
To my namesake, David Hines, who first MiSTed "Enterprized" and "A Gul's  
Revenge" starting the Ratliff craze.  
  
To all MSTies worldwide, particularly the Dibs List.  
  
To Mike, Joel, Tom & Crow, who hopefully don't feel too betrayed by my  
"going over to the dark side".  
  
To my best friend, Specialist Cliff Hill, United States Army.  
  
And to one of the most gracious human beings I know, for being so tolerant  
to what we MSTies do to the stuff he works so hard on, Stephen Ratliff.  
  
============================================================  
  
Introduction: (Courtesy of another monumental crossover, "Archie Meets The  
Punisher")  
  
In the 24th century, one woman has been adopted by Captain Jean Luc Picard,  
become the leader and first Captain of the Starfleet "Kids Crew" program.  
Later, she discovered that she was also the heir to the throne of the planet  
Essex. Aided by her friends and crewmates Jay Gordon, Clara Sutter,  
Alexander Rozhenko, Patterson Supra, Dr. Jackson Johnson, Martin Sussex,  
Shayna Sachs, Ross Lochard, Katharine Szustakowski and T'Luv, she has saved  
the Federation many times over, much to the bane of the Cardassians, the  
Romulans and the Trakce. Enter the world of Marrissa Amber Picard.  
  
In the 20th century, one man has overcome a disadvantaged background to  
become a student at prestigous Point Loma Nazarene University. Defying his  
past in which he did not enjoy much social status, he has become arguably  
one of the icons of the student body of said institution, including serving  
as the 1997-1998 Associated Student Body Director of Activities, and becoming  
a regular opinion columnist of the school newspaper, "The Point Weekly". He  
is the "self made man". He is "Boffo". Enter the world of Dave Hines.  
  
Prologue:  
  
"Dave, why are you just wasting time surfing the net?"  
  
Dave Hines looked up at the face of Brian, his supervisor at the  
PLNU Ryan Library Computer Labs. "Hi, Brian. Just got off shift."  
  
"Uh huh. Just remember I've got my eye on you, Hines." With that,  
the supervisor turned his back and walked away.  
  
"Mm hmm. What a life." Dave smirked as the Pentium II Computer  
loaded up his NT account. Quickly he checked his email. There was another  
PlanetAll update with people he didn't know, an Oracularities digest he  
decided to save for later, as well as several Dibs List mails that didn't  
really pertain to him. Deleting those, he booted up Netscape and perused  
his bookmark list for "Web Site No. 9". He felt like some MiSTed Ratliff  
today.  
  
"Hmmm. Hey, Marrissa's Revenge II. Haven't read that for a while.  
Marrissa wants to get her revenge on me." Dave briefly checked his watch.  
"Oh, snot. I'm going to be late for class again." Dave shut down the  
computer, returning it to the regular Student account, then gathered his  
belongings and headed out for the door. Passing his supervisor's office,  
he called out "Marrissa wants revenge on me!"  
  
"I'm going to want revenge on you. Get out of here."  
  
Sliding his keycard into the lock, he heard the door solenoids  
click and he exited the employee's entrance. "Marrissa wants revenge on me.  
Tee hee."  
  
Unfortunately, Dave's day was interrupted by a sudden flash. When  
the light disappeared, unobserved, Dave was no longer to be seen.  
  
Across campus, the time shifted to 1:30. Dave's professor had no  
choice but to start class. "I wonder where Dave is?" he asked himself as he  
started his History lecture for the day.  
  
Chapter 1:  
  
"Captain's Log: Stardate 59692.8. We have been assigned the duty  
of tracking the Nexus, the pseudo-dimensional access that once contained my  
father. Ever since the Enterprise-B's maiden voyage encounter with it, the  
Nexus has been deemed an interstellar hazard. Starfleet has routinely  
evacuated the smaller colonies that the Nexus has encountered, but its  
current course takes it dangerously near colonies so well established that  
evacuation would mean economic disaster. On a personal note, one of the  
planets in danger over the next few months is Essex. During some of my  
recent conversations with my cousin, Queen Victoria, she has made it clear  
that the nobility will not abandon Essex. I cannot help but admire this  
dedication, but I have lost family before. It will not happen again.  
End Log."  
  
Commander Jay Gordon responded, "A little on the emotional side  
for you, Marrissa."  
  
"Perhaps, Jay. But I meant every word of it."  
  
"I know that, Marrissa. No one questions your dedication."  
  
Just then, Dr. Jackson Johnson, the ship's Chief Medical Officer  
entered the Bridge with Martin Sussex, the ship's counselor. Dr. Johnson  
addressed the Captain, "Captain, may I speak with you and Commander Gordon  
for a moment?"  
  
"Of course, Doctor. Alexander, you have the bridge."  
  
"Aye aye, sir."  
  
Marrissa, Jay, Jackson and Martin entered the Ready Room.  
  
"What's on your mind, Doctor?" asked Marrissa.  
  
"Sir," Dr. Johnson began, and Marrissa inwardly sighed as she knew  
that Jackson was hardly ever this formal unless he had something to say  
that he'd rather not say. "I've been speaking with Commander Gordon and  
Lieutenant Sussex."  
  
"...and you're all concerned about how much time I've been spending  
on the Bridge lately."  
  
"Capt-... Marrissa," Jay began, "You've been working double-shifts  
for the last week. I know you're concerned about Essex, and the Endeavour.  
But Essex has months yet before it has to worry, and the ship is not in  
danger. The Nexus is only a bizarre natural phenomenon. There's nothing that  
requires your constant presence on the Bridge."  
  
"I'm not the first Captain to work a little overtime now and then."  
rejoined Marrissa.  
  
"Marrissa," Martin spoke up, "we're not simply here as your Chief  
Medical Officer, First Officer and Ship's Counselor. We're also here as your  
friends. We don't want to see you wear yourself out over a situation that is  
currently nominal. This isn't a relief-of-command situation. We're just  
concerned about you."  
  
Marrissa paused a bit before responding. "Thank you, gentlemen.  
Your concern is appreciated. I will certainly take your advice under  
consider..."  
  
However, Marrissa was interrupted as Alexander's voice, audible  
both over the intercom and through the Ready Room door, pronounced "We have  
an Intruder Alert!"  
  
The Red Alert klaxons began to sound as the four occupants of the  
Ready Room bolted for the door.  
  
Chapter 2:  
  
Dave didn't know what was going on. He was on his way to Research  
Methods, and suddenly... flash. This made no sense. He shook his head to  
clear it as a young man with ridges on his head ("That looks almost like a  
Klingon", Dave thought) loudly said "We have an Intruder Alert!" This was  
happening way too fast.  
  
One woman and three men rushed out of a door on the side of the  
bridge. The woman looked familiar somehow. Like he had seen her on TV, or  
in a drawing somewhere.  
  
"I am Captain Marrissa Amber Picard of the Federation Starship  
U.S.S. Endeavour. Who are you and what are you doing on my Bridge?" the  
woman loudly, but calmly stated.  
  
Dave's fogged brain immediately cleared a little. Marrissa? What  
on - ? How? The Revenge! He didn't know how it could be possible, but she  
was here, or rather he was there, or... he just didn't know.  
  
"And here I thought the ending to 'The Only Constant' was revenge  
enough." Dave calmly paused for a couple seconds before screaming  
"Nooooo!!!!!" Having caught the officers by surprise, Dave dived into the  
Turbolift and screamed, "Down!"  
  
Marrissa quickly recovered, and calmly stated, "Computer, override  
Turbolift control and return Turbolift to Bridge level. Authorization  
Marrissa Omega Mozart Alpha Seven." The computer emitted a three-tone  
reply to signal its compliance.  
  
---  
  
In the turbolift, Dave felt the subtle change in vibration that  
indicated that his direction had shifted. "Oh, no you don't. Computer! Beam  
me directly to deck twenty-five, section G. Fleetwide Override Code Upsilon  
Alpha Zulu Foxtrot Four!" The same computer tone emitted and Dave's last  
thought before disappearing in the transporter effect was, "How on Earth  
did I know that?"  
  
---  
  
Back on the bridge, Alexander and another Security officer held  
phasers (set on stun) on the turbolift door. It opened and revealed  
nothing. Alexander and the other Security officer glanced at each other,  
and then cautiously, but quickly, made their way into the turbolift.  
  
"He's not here, Captain." Alexander called out a moment later.  
  
"Alright, then," responded Marrissa, "Computer! Locate any humanoid  
lifeform aboard that is not wearing a comm-badge. Let's see where this guy  
went to."  
  
---  
  
Patterson Supra was bored with his current assignment. He was  
guarding the Deck 25 Armory. Even though there was simply no way any  
intruder could make their way into this area of the ship, Standard  
Procedure dictated that each armory be guarded by a sentient lifeform, as  
well as electronically locked. Patterson was currently assigned to the  
Security department under his friend, Ross Lochard. The two of them had  
decided to share the responsibilities as to give their department more  
access into each area of Starship Security, as well as avoid any charges  
of favoritism.  
  
Patterson had heard of one incident back on the Stargazer, where an  
uncautious crewperson had made a distasteful remark involving the term  
"Captain's Harem" to describe a shift where Marrissa was a female Captain  
amongst an all-male bridge crew, and ended up getting a tooth knocked out  
by Lochard, resulting in the crewperson's transfer and the only reprimand  
to ever appear on Lochard's record.  
  
Because of these factors, and the fact that Starfleet Mental Health  
had ruled, in essence, not to give anyone the most mind-numbingly boring  
duty in the universe on a regular basis. Patterson Supra got to sit in  
front of a door for eight hours. Sixteen hours, he remembered. He was  
covering for Cortez. He wished he had remembered to bring a PADD to read  
or something.  
  
Patterson's thoughts were interrupted by Red Alert klaxons and  
Alexander Rozhenko's voice announcing, "We have an Intruder Alert."  
  
"Now what's going on?" thought Patterson. Less than thirty seconds  
later, Patterson heard a transporter beam. The enforced inactivity had  
dulled Patterson's reflexes, so he was unable to pull his phaser out before  
Dave materialized and knocked him unconcious with the right hook of a  
desperate man.  
  
As Patterson slumped to the floor, Dave turned to the keypad and  
entered a fifteen digit code that he had no idea he knew. But the door  
opened and Dave grabbed a phaser. "Starfleet Type II Phaser. Now that's what  
I'm talking about."  
  
"Stop right there." an annoyed female voice said.  
  
Dave turned around with phaser raised, right into the eyes of  
Captain Marrissa Picard, also with phaser raised. The two stood less than  
three feet apart, with phasers less than six inches from each other's head.  
Dave remembered that at this range, even a stun would be lethal.  
  
"Stalemate." he thought to himself.  
  
Chapter 3:  
  
As Dave and Marrissa held each other at bay, Marrissa reflected  
on the situation. Several times during her young life, she had been in  
danger for her life. By this point, the situation held no fear for her.  
It was a simple occupational hazard that Marrissa did not dwell upon.  
  
Dave, on the other hand, was extremely anxious. He was on his way  
to class, and then... flash. He had to be dreaming because he thought that  
he was on a starship with Marrissa. He ran, and, aided by computer codes  
that he had absolutely no idea how he knew, he got access to a phaser and  
now was in a life-and-death stand off with what appeared to be Marrissa  
herself. He felt a slight twinge between his shoulder and neck and lost  
conciousness.  
  
Replacing the phaser back into the armory, Marrissa addressed her  
Vulcan rescuer. "Thank you, T'Luv."  
  
With equanimity, T'Luv responded, "You are quite welcome, Captain.  
I was taking some readings in the hydroponics bay when I heard sounds of a  
struggle."  
  
Just then, Security Chief Ross Lochard rounded the corner  
accompanied by three additional Security officers. Marrissa replied, "It's  
alright, Ross. The situation is under control. Take the intruder to the  
brig, and have Dr. Johnson take a look at Patterson."  
  
Patterson, who had just begun to stir, groaned in pain. Two of the  
Security personnel helped Patterson up and began helping him into the  
turbolift. The remaining yellowshirt crouched near Dave, tapped his  
communicator and stated, "Barklage to Transporter Room, beam two from this  
location directly to the Brig, Authorization Barklage Alpha One Delta."  
Dave and Ensign Barklage disappeared in the transporter effect.  
  
Marrissa turned to Ross, and said, "Ross, I need you to change all  
security codes under the same protocol as that we use in the event of a  
captured officer. Whoever the intruder is, he somehow seems to know the  
codes for this vessel, including the Fleet Override. I don't like intruders  
having that sort of information."  
  
"Aye, sir." Ross responded, then turned smartly and walked away.  
  
Marrissa tapped her communicator, "Picard to senior staff. Conference  
in the observation lounge in fifteen minutes." A chorus of "Aye, Sir."  
greeted her as response. Marrissa bent to the floor to pick up the phaser  
that Dave dropped. "Well, what do you know? All those computer codes and he  
doesn't even know enough to take the safety off of a hand phaser."  
  
Just then, Patterson's replacement as armory guard arrived. Marrissa  
handed to phaser to him and walked away as he began the process to change  
the codes to the armory.  
  
Chapter Four:  
  
"Hey, Marrissa!"  
  
Marrissa turned around to see her first officer and boyfriend, Jay  
Gordon. "Hello, Jay."  
  
"Marrissa, we need to talk."  
  
"Yes, Jay?"  
  
"With the incident with the intruder today. You beamed yourself off  
of the bridge to where he was."  
  
"Yes, and I caught the intruder, didn't I?"  
  
"That's not the point. You are the captain of this ship, and it is  
not your job to place yourself in dangerous situations. Intraship beaming  
in itself is risky..."  
  
"Jay, there's only a one in six hundred and seventy million chance  
of mishap."  
  
"Yes, but that is enough that Starfleet regulations clearly state  
that intraship beaming is to only occur in an emergency situation."  
  
Marrissa stopped and motioned Jay into an alcove where their  
conversation wouldn't be overheard by the crewpeople passing by.  
  
"Jay, that was an emergency situation. Would you have wanted that  
lunatic running around the ship with a phaser?"  
  
"Marrissa, that's why we have a security force. If it weren't for  
T'Luv, you could have been killed."  
  
"No, I couldn't have. The intruder forgot to take the safety lock  
off of the phaser."  
  
"Marrissa, all I'm saying is that your luck can't run forever, and  
as first officer, I'm supposed to protect you from being harmed... and...  
I wouldn't want you to come to any harm."  
  
Marrissa stared at him for a second, then whispered, "Yes, sir." The  
two shared a brief kiss. Jay took Marrissa's hand.  
  
The rest of the voyage to the observation lounge was silent.  
  
Chapter Five:  
  
As Jay and Marrissa arrived in the observation lounge, the rest of  
the senior staff was already present: Clara Sutter, Chief Engineer; Alexander  
Rozhenko, Ops; Ross Lochard, Security; Katherine Szustakowski Lochard, Conn;  
Dr. Jackson Johnson, Chief Medical Officer and Martin Sussex, Ship's  
Counselor.  
  
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen" Marrissa said as she sat  
down. Jay took the seat to her right. "As you probably know, earlier today,  
we had an incident with an intruder. I called this conference to discuss the  
matter. Firstly, we'll need a summary of the incident. Ross?"  
  
"At 1314 hours, the intruder appeared in the middle of the bridge.  
There were no transporter traces..."  
  
"Pardon me, Ross," Marrissa interrupted, "but I have a theory on  
that I'd like to confirm. Computer, compare the visual record of the  
phenomenon accompanying the intruder's arrival with the effect usually  
present due to actions of the entity known as 'Q'."  
  
"Comparison complete. There is a 99.95% correlation."  
  
In a flash, Q appeared. "How wonderful! You've managed to figure  
it out all by yourselves. Of course, you didn't have Microbrain slowing you  
down."  
  
Alexander shot up. "Do *not* speak that way about my father."  
  
Marrissa held up a hand in Alexander's direction. "What do you want  
here, Q? Are you responsible for the intruder's appearance?"  
  
"You've always been a bright girl. Has your father ever told you of  
the temporal paradox he had to figure out?"  
  
Marrissa remembered it. On Stardate 47898, her adopted father had  
encountered, courtesy of the omnipotent entity who had invited himself to  
this conference, jumps placing him seven years in the past, and twenty-five  
years in the future. Jean-Luc had mentioned to her that in this alternate  
future, where Jean-Luc had developed Irimodic Syndrome, that Marrissa had  
died in a training accident, and as her father had not married her adoptive  
mother yet, Dr. Beverly Picard, neither her brother Nicholas, nor her  
sister Jackie were with him. He was alone in the Picard vineyards, with  
both his senior staff and the Kid's Crew spread to the four corners of the  
galaxy. Despite the debilitating effects of the Irimodic Syndrome, Jean-Luc  
managed to join his senior staff together and with the help of the "present"  
and "past" Enterprises closed the temporal anamoly that was to doom humanity.  
As part of this, Jean-Luc had to realize the paradox of an anti-time  
anamoly.  
  
Marrissa felt a cold chill run up her spine. "Is there another  
anamoly?"  
  
"You Starfleet types... to you, everything is just whatever spacial  
anamoly hits us this week. What I was driving at was that I have control  
over time and space. But go on with your little briefing. I'm interested  
to know what else you've deduced thus far."  
  
"Picard to Brig, bring the prisoner to the Observation Lounge.  
Continue, Ross."  
  
"As we now know, Q brought the intruder to the bridge. The intruder  
seemed disoriented. After the captain identified herself, the intruder  
leapt into the turbolift. The captain ordered the turbolift to return to the  
bridge, but the intruder somehow accessed the Fleet Override code, and  
beamed himself to outside the armory. He knocked out Ensign Supra and  
accessed the armory. He retrieved a Type II Phaser. The Captain beamed  
herself in, and in passing, may I recommend to the Captain that she refrain  
from doing so in the future due to the danger involved?"  
  
Jay shot Marrissa a glance. Q smirked. She studiously ignored the  
both of them. "Noted, Lieutenant. Continue."  
  
"The Captain was armed as well, and both the Captain and the  
intruder held each other at bay with a Type II Phaser. We would later find  
out that the intruder neglected to remove the Phaser's safety. Lieutenant  
T'Luv came across the situation and disabled the intruder via a Vulcan  
neck pinch. At that time, my Security forces arrived, apprehended the  
intruder, and began the process of changing all access codes."  
  
"Is that all, Lieutenant?"  
  
"No, sir. In considering Ensign Supra's being knocked unconcious,  
please keep in mind that he had been at that post for nearly two shifts.  
I am in the process right now of rearranging the duty shifts so that no  
officer is left at that post for more than half a shift at a time."  
  
"Noted. I have decided not to pursue any disciplinary action  
against Patterson, other than..." Marrissa smiled and a gleam developed  
in her eye, "for the next two days, he's reassigned to the Mess Hall. He  
will be in charge of radishes again." she kidded. To her right, she heard  
Jay chuckling. "Dr. Johnson, how is Patterson?"  
  
"Other than a bruised chin and some bruised pride, he's fine. Healed  
the former, but couldn't do much about the latter. The kitchen duty should  
allow him to get some of the rest he needs. He's been overworking lately."  
  
"Martin, how about our intruder?"  
  
"Well, his name is Dave Hines, and he claimed to live in San Diego,  
California in the then United States of America in September, 1998. I asked  
the computer to verify this by scanning his quantum signature. You'll  
remember that the quantum signatures change slightly over time, and we can  
trace that. Mr. Hines' signature verified that he was from the late  
twentieth century, but his signature shows no time travel telltales."  
  
"Quantum signatures! How delightfully primitive!" Q chortled. At  
this point, Marrissa knew why Q had mentioned the anti-time anamoly  
incident. She got the feeling that Q's intentions in bringing this man here  
were not malignant, though.  
  
Martin looked askance at Q and continued, "He is quite sane, but is  
confused. He was able to relay facts that he shouldn't know about this crew.  
He claims he knows this information from reading 'fanfics' back in his own  
time. Thus, he is still only partially convinced that this is not some odd  
dream. He is also somehow convinced that you are responsible for his...  
abduction, Captain. He was unable to tell me where he learned the computer  
codes he used during his aborted escape attempt."  
  
"Well, he needed to have some fun." Q responded with that annoying  
smirk of his.  
  
"You mean you-?"  
  
"Yes," Q interrupted, "I just gave him, shall we say, a certain  
talent for using modern computers."  
  
At this point, the door opened as a Security guard brought in Dave,  
who was chanting "Attica! Attica!". At one glance at Marrissa, he screamed  
briefly and attempted to flee, but the guard restrained him.  
  
"Have fun!" Q stated before disappearing in a flash of light.  
  
"Mr. Hines," began Marrissa.  
  
"She knows my name! Help me!"  
  
"Mr. Hines, I am not responsible for bringing you here and I bear  
you no ill will."  
  
"You're not? Well, then who...?"  
  
"An entity known as Q."  
  
"Q?! Q is just a fictional character... just like the rest of you  
are. Oh, I'm having a *great* day."  
  
"Mr. Hines, I realize that the method in which you were brought here  
was somewhat alarming, which accounts for your recent behavior. But now that  
you've had some time to cool off, I'm willing to let you free on the  
Endeavour on your own recognisance until such time as Starfleet lets us know  
what to do with you."  
  
"I would suppose that would mean no more trying to break into the  
armories?"  
  
"Yes. Also, I would like you to meet at least once a day with  
Lieutenant Sussex until you can become acclimated to this time."  
  
Dave looked over at Martin. "Whassup?!" he yelled at him.  
  
"Please stop that." Martin responded. At the looks of the rest of  
the senior staff, Martin responded, "He does that every time he hears my  
first name. I don't know why."  
  
"Mr. Hines, try to stay out of trouble... for your sake." Marrissa  
finished with a bit more edge in her voice than she had intended. "Meeting  
adjourned, everyone."  
  
Chapter Six:  
  
As Dave walked out of the briefing room, happy to be doing so under  
his own power, a growling in his stomach told him that he was in need of  
sustenance. He entered the turbolift. A voice behind him said "Hold the  
'lift!"  
  
Dave turned around to see Lieutenant Martin Sussex walking briskly  
towards the turbolift. "I was just about to see what a person could eat on  
this ship." Dave stated.  
  
"That's a good idea. Computer, the Officer's Mess!"  
  
As the turbolift eased into nearly indetectable motion, Dave  
glanced over at Martin and said, "You know, I'm a bit old for a chaperon."  
  
"I'm not here as a chaperon, Mr. Hines..."  
  
"Dave, please. Whenever you say Mr. Hines, I look around for my  
grandfather."  
  
"Alright, and if you don't ask me 'what's up' like that anymore, you  
can call me Martin. I was just thinking that the only exposure you've had to  
this ship, let alone this time so far is a panic-stricken flight, our brig  
and a conference room, and that maybe you could use some help acclimating."  
  
"Maybe." Dave conceded as the turbolift doors opened. Martin and  
Dave turned left and began walking down the hallway.  
  
"The quartermaster has assigned you quarters on deck six in the  
V.I.P. section."  
  
"Wow, I'm important."  
  
"Aren't you happy with V.I.P. quarters?"  
  
"No, it's not that. It's just that I don't plan on making use of  
them for long. I figure I'm just one slingshot manuever away from going  
home."  
  
"Well, I was hoping not to mention it for a couple days, but I'm  
afraid that it's a bit more complicated than that."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Dave, I checked your records. You were presumed dead after you  
disappeared on that day in September, 1998. You were not part of the history  
that follows. If you go back, you'll disrupt the timeline, possibly to the  
extent that you'd cause a temporal paradox."  
  
"Those are messy."  
  
"That's an understatement. No matter what reason Q had for  
transporting you to this timeline, you're stuck here."  
  
Dave fell silent as he and Martin entered the Officer's Mess. A  
number of officers were already present, including Jay Gordon and Alexander  
Rozhenko.  
  
"Raktajino." Martin told the replicator.  
  
"Do you mean to tell me that I am stuck here on the Star Trek  
equivalent of 'Lord of the Flies'?!?!"  
  
Martin's eyes bugged out slightly as he sipped his raktajino. He was  
not expecting this to happen as quickly. He needed to get Dave calmed down  
and to someplace a little more private.  
  
"Dave, perhaps we'd better..."  
  
"I am not going to be stuck here with the female Captain Bligh and  
her constant recitation of titles!" Dave shouted. He was beginning to get  
the attention of the entire room, including Jay and Alexander.  
  
"I know! Let's lock warring diplomats in a room together! There's  
tactics worthy of my fifth grade principal!"  
  
"Dave..."  
  
"We're out of strawberries?! Start killing the crew!" Dave continued  
to rant.  
  
Jay had had enough of this. "That'll be enough, mister."  
  
Dave spun to face him. "Look, it's Whipped Boy! And his sidekick,  
the Klingon Kid!"  
  
"Mr. Hines, I said that will be enough!"  
  
"Jawohl, mein fuhrer!"  
  
"Jay..." warned Martin.  
  
"Mr. Hines, we have attempted to be hospitable and you continue to  
insult us, particularly my Captain and my friend."  
  
"Do you intend to do something about it? Or are you just pretending  
you can zip your fly without three written approvals from Marrissa?!"  
  
"Fine, then we'll settle this the traditional way. Boxing, on the  
holodeck, half an hour."  
  
"How about we do this on my turf, instead?"  
  
"However you want to do it, mister."  
  
Dave barked an order to the replicator, which produced a PADD. "Study  
up." Dave suggested before leaving the mess.  
  
Martin approached Jay. "Jay, Dave has been under an incredible  
amount of stress these last few hours. I'm sure he doesn't mean..."  
  
"Martin, I'm sorry. But there's no backing down now."  
  
Chapter Seven:  
  
"Program Hines One is in use and running." the computer stated  
in its friendly feminine tone. Jay stood outside the door to the holodeck  
with Alexander and Martin.  
  
"Enter." Jay commanded. The three entered what looked to be a  
traditional ring surrounded by thousands of people booing at him. "Cute." he  
concluded.  
  
As Jay took off the robe he was wearing to reveal black shorts,  
boots, kneepads and elbowpads, a short balding man entered the ring.  
  
The balding man took a microphone and announced, "Ladies and  
gentlemen, this is our main event! Already in the ring, hailing from the  
U.S.S. Endeavour, weighing in at one hundred and eighty eight pounds, here is  
Jay Gordon!!!!" The crowd, programmed to be hostile, booed their hearts out.  
A faint chant of "Jay sucks! Jay sucks!" could be heard beginning.  
  
The balding man continued, "...and his opponent!" A few notes on a  
bass guitar started and a woman could be heard yelling "Oh, Dave!" as a  
voice began singing "I think I'm cute... I know I'm sexy..." as the  
announcer finished "Hailing from San Diego, California, Nineteen ninety  
eight, and weighing in at three hundred pounds.... the "Heartbreak Kid"...  
Dave Hines!!!!" The computer simulated crowd went suitably berserk as Dave  
entered underneath the gigantic monitor in one of the most outrageous  
outfits Jay had seen in some time. Dave danced his way to the ring as  
fireworks went off and some of the computer-simulated women could be seen  
swooning. Dave removed the outer clothing, leaving colorful tights and posed  
in front of Jay as more pyrotechnics erupted.  
  
Dave took some last kudoes from the simulation, and stared straight  
at Jay as a bell sounded. Dave and Jay locked up. Jay used his Starfleet  
training to pull Dave into a hammerlock. Dave raked Jay's eyes.  
  
Alexander immediately jumped to the ring apron. "You are  
dishonorable!"  
  
Dave's only reply was to kiss his hand and slap his posterior with  
it as he moved Jay into a side headlock. As the referee busied himself with  
getting Alexander off of the ring apron, Jay pushed Dave into the ropes and  
attempted to spear-tackle him on the rebound. Dave moved out of the way and  
used Jay's momentum to throw him between the top and middle ropes. Dave  
hopped out himself and two began brawling, all semblance of combat style  
gone. Within about thirty seconds, the referee had reached ten. As he  
signalled the timekeeper to ring the bell. Referees and officials in suits  
swarmed out to attempt to separate the two, as well as keeping Martin and  
Alexander out of the fray.  
  
The balding man announced to the hostile crowd, "The referee has  
counted both men out of the ring, and has ruled this bout a double countout!"  
The crowd booed as both Jay and Dave strained against the officials holding  
them back.  
  
A frustrated female voice rang out, "Computer! End program!" The  
arena, and everything else other than Dave, Jay, Martin and Alexander  
disappeared. Suddenly lacking support for their off-balance position, both  
Dave and Jay face-faulted to the floor.  
  
Marrissa stood in the doorway. "Mr. Hines, until further notice,  
you're confined to quarters." Dave was silent as he stood and stalked out of  
the holodeck. "Jay, I'd like to see you in my ready room tomorrow morning at  
0900." Marrissa looked back at Jay, and exasperatedly said, "Men!" as  
she walked away.  
  
Chapter Eight:  
  
Marrissa viciously pressed the control to open the door to her  
quarters. This had not been her day. First, that... thing from the late 20th  
century shows up, then Q comes back, then her boyfriend, and even worse, her  
first officer lets his hormones do his thinking for him. She thought about  
returning to the bridge, but she trusted that Shayna had things well in hand  
up there. Besides, Martin had a point. Her worrying about the Nexus wasn't  
going to stop it, and she needed to rest. Maybe a nice bubble-bath would  
relax her.  
  
Marrissa took off her outer uniform jacket and was preparing to take  
off the turtleneck when she saw a flash out of the corner of her eye. She  
quickly turned to see Q standing there in ludicrously old-fashioned pajamas  
and a nightcap.  
  
"Need someone to tuck you in?" asked the omnipotent entity.  
  
"Q! What are you doing in my quarters?!" asked Marrissa.  
  
Q smiled that extremely annoying smirk of his. "Well, Risa..." he  
began.  
  
Anger flashed in Marrissa's eyes. "Do *not* call me that."  
  
Q chuckled. "Well, can't an old friend come to read you a bedtime  
story, make sure you've washed behind your ears, and give you a goodnight  
kiss?"  
  
Marrissa took a deep breath before continuing. This was the same type  
of scorn she had heard whispered behind her back by those in Starfleet who  
didn't know her. Once she had worked with someone, she was usually able to  
put together a relationship of mutual respect, but jealousy amongst those  
whom she hadn't worked with sparked rumors of nepotism and worse which had  
supposedly contributed to her rapid rise through the ranks.  
  
"I am not a child, Q."  
  
Something almost inperceptible changed in Q's face, and he changed  
from benevolent trickster to the near omnipotent judge that the Enterprise-D  
first encountered.  
  
"Really? Sad, then. When I first met you, I had such high hopes for  
you. But now, instead of that vast potential, what do I see? Your little cat  
and mouse game with Jay, your obsessive attitude towards your ship and your  
inability to interact civilly with a visitor. You're becoming just like  
Jean-Luc at his worst. A pity." With that parting shot, Q vanished.  
  
Marrissa seethed for a second. Q's accusations weren't really fair,  
but there was an element of truth in them. She had been overworking herself  
lately, and she didn't know what was going through Jay's head with their  
relationship sometimes. One thing she would do though was to see if perhaps  
she could get along better with their visitor, Mr. Hines. She would go see  
him tomorrow.  
  
But for now, the intrusion of an omnipotent entity into her quarters  
had changed her mind about the bubble-bath. Marrissa curled up on her bunk  
and quickly fell asleep.  
  
Chapter Nine:  
  
Marrissa walked down the corridors of her ship feeling better than  
she had in days. Getting the full night's sleep had done her a lot of good.  
She would have to remember to thank Martin for his concern. When she reached  
V.I.P. Quarters, Suite 13, she pressed the chime for admittance.  
  
"Yo!" came the voice from within.  
  
The computer interpreted that as an invitation to ingress, so the  
doors parted for Marrissa. Dave was lounging in a chair before the computer  
panel grinning to himself. He also looked a great deal more chipper than he  
had on the previous day.  
  
"Mr. Hines," Marrissa began.  
  
Dave looked up and saw Marrissa. "Ahh!" Then Dave shook his head and  
tried again. "Captain?"  
  
That's definite progress, thought Marrissa.  
  
"You seemed to be happy about something."  
  
"Oh, yeah!" Dave swiveled the monitor around, and showed Marrissa a  
screen proudly proclaiming "Welcome to the Dave Hines HomePage!" with Dave's  
picture repeated over and over again in the background.  
  
"HomePage?" Marrissa asked, confused. Then she remembered. "Oh, yes.  
Your so-called 'Internet'. After World War III, a surprising amount of data  
was recovered on that from old computers that somehow survived. What has been  
found kind of stands as an 'online museum' to that era that everyone can  
visit."  
  
Dave scrolled the screen down to his counter and was a little  
depressed to see that the number was not much higher from what he remembered  
back in 1998. Turning to Marrissa, he began, "Look, ah, Capt-"  
  
Marrissa interrupted. "Mr. Hines, you are not in my command, and I'm  
not on duty. I do prefer Marrissa."  
  
"Oh. Okay. Dave, then. Marrissa, I just wanted to apologize for  
yesterday. I was... um... having a really bad day."  
  
"I know. I spoke with Martin before coming to see you. Effective  
immediately, you are no longer confined to quarters. Our current assignment  
lasts for another couple of days, after which we'll be returning to Earth,  
so you should be back home within a week. Until then, here's a communicator  
pin, standard issue to all aboard. The computer can let you know how it  
works."  
  
"Hmm." Dave said noncommitally, accepting the pin and attaching it  
to his t-shirt.  
  
"You don't sound too pleased."  
  
"It's just that... I really don't expect there to be much left on  
Earth for me after nearly five hundred years..."  
  
Consulting a PADD she had brought with her, Marrissa responded,  
"Well, Martin has done some research and has found some living descendants  
of your first cousins, and..."  
  
"Thanks anyway, but I wasn't that big on family when I was back home.  
I'm a bit of a lone wolf."  
  
"That's too bad. I've always felt that family, whether by blood, or  
adopted, was one of my most cherished treasures."  
  
"Yeah. I know, I've read all about it."  
  
"I was a bit curious about that. You claim to have read my history  
in what you refer to as 'fan-fics'?"  
  
"Yeah. Short for fan fiction. From my best estimate, this is the  
fourth 'epoch' of your storyline, in which..." Dave trailed off. "I can't  
remember!"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I remember all of your stories up to a certain point... now in your  
time. That's it! I can't remember anything that happens after now!"  
  
"Maybe that's Q's doing, to make sure you can't change what happens  
with foreknowledge of events."  
  
"Maybe... hey, maybe he'll erase my memory of the end scene in 'The  
Only Constant' too!"  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
Just then, the intercom blared in Jay's voice, "Captain to the  
bridge!" as the ship rocked. Marrissa realized that they were under attack!  
Unfortunately, the next thing Marrissa realized was that she was in a  
transporter beam.  
  
Chapter Ten:  
  
"Get those shields up, Mr. Lochard!" Jay barked from the command  
chair.  
  
"Trying, sir." Ross Lochard responded. "No good. They hit the rear  
shield generator. Damage control teams have been alerted to the area."  
  
"Tell them this has emergency priority. Mr. Rozhenko! Keep the front  
of the ship pointed towards the enemy vessel!"  
  
"Aye, sir." Alexander responded.  
  
"Commander! I have identification on the enemy vessel." began Ross.  
"It's Trakce. The ship's name is the Gilkarn."  
  
Jay thought for a moment. No one he knew personally.  
  
"Sir!" Ross exclaimed. "The Trakce have beamed two personnel from  
this ship to their's! Checking... they took Mr. Hines and..." Ross rechecked  
his readings, "...and the Captain, sir."  
  
"Mr. Lochard, I want them back. Try to target the Trakce shield  
generators. Gordon to Engineering."  
  
"Sutter here, Commander." Although most of the former "Kids Crew"  
knew each other quite well, they fell back to standard Starfleet protocol in  
situations like this.  
  
"Lieutenant, the Trakce vessel we are engaging has kidnapped the  
Captain and our guest. Send whoever is most expert in Transporter systems  
to Transporter Room One."  
  
"That would be Lieutenant Sachs, sir, and she's on her way."  
  
Jay pondered what his next action should be. Calling up a sensor  
schematic on the Captain's viewscreen, he saw that the Trakce were jamming  
all frequencies, ruling out a call for help. In any case, the battle would  
already be decided by the time help arrived, and Jay was always a firm  
believer in the theory that universe helps those who helped themselves.  
  
His only choice at this point was to wait, and have a little faith  
in his remarkable crew. Though he did know one thing: if those Trakce harmed  
one hair on Marrissa's head, they would answer to him.  
  
---  
  
Marrissa felt disoriented. She recognized the sensation of being  
transported, but the phase inducers must have been barely within tolerance  
levels, and way below Federation standards. As she opened her eyes, she  
found herself and Dave in a brig. Dave was sitting down, and shaking his  
head, not being used to the sensation of being transported at all. Looking  
out through the forcefield, she saw an alien bridge, being manned by aliens  
distinguished by colorful hair ribbons. She knew this enemy quite well.  
  
"Ah, the little princess has joined us. I do hope you'll be  
comfortable." said a voice from the command chair. As the chair swiveled  
around to give Marrissa a look at her enemy, she gasped. She recognized this  
Trakce and thought him to be long dead.  
  
"Ath Ressel." she said in an amazed voice.  
  
Chapter Eleven:  
  
"Not quite." said the enemy leader. "But I am glad you take the time  
to remember your victims. I am Ath Dralnok, brother of the Ressel you  
killed."  
  
"I did not kill Ath Ressel."  
  
"You do not admit that you caused him to fail in his mission?"  
  
"I didn't let him capture me, if that's what you mean."  
  
"Yes, and the Trakce Central Authority executed him for that failure.  
Therefore, I hold you responsible. And worse, you have acted on several  
occassions to deny the Trakce their manifest destiny of expansion. Did you  
know, Captain, that Trakcean children are taught to fear you?"  
  
"No, I was not aware of that."  
  
"Because of this, I was ordered to take you for Trakce once and for  
all. It was a simple matter. When Ressel held you, he implanted a  
subcutaneous transponder set to only go off a few minutes ago, thus avoiding  
detection. When we came to where your ship was at the time, it was a simple  
matter to locate you."  
  
Dave, who was busy trying to control feelings of nausea, finally  
spoke, "Mommy, make the bad man stop talking."  
  
Ath Dralnok looked at him. "As for the large one, he was a special  
prize. Our transporter beams aren't as focused as yours, so he was caught in  
the fringe of the transporter effect. His quantum signature is interesting.  
We shall subject him to scientific tests."  
  
Marrissa knew what the Trakce considered as "scientific tests", and  
knew that Dave had no hope of survival if they "tested" him.  
  
Just then, the helmsman shouted, "Ath! The Earther's ship is  
approaching quickly!"  
  
"Idiot!" Dralnok roared. "You said that they would not be able to  
track us if we used the anamoly's emanations as cover!"  
  
"Apologies and mercy, A-..." The helmsman was cut off as the Ath  
pressed a control on the bridge and the helmsman simply disintegrated.  
  
"Communications, signal for assistance. Relief pilot, take over."  
ordered Dralnok.  
  
Suddenly, the ship rocked, and Dave and Marrissa noticed the brig  
forcefield shut off. In their arrogance, the Trakce had failed to remove  
the duo's commbadges.  
  
"Picard to Endeavour! Beam Mr. Hines aboard!"  
  
As she turned to Dave, he tossed something at her and said, "Catch."  
The world dissolved around her. The next thing she knew, she was standing in  
the Endeavour's transporter room, holding an extra commbadge. She saw Shayna  
Sachs at the controls.  
  
"Shayna, lock on to a human life sign over there, and beam him over  
here."  
  
"I can't, sir. The Gilkarn's shields are up again, and..."  
  
Marrissa didn't wait for Shayna to finish, as she raced out of the  
transporter room and towards a turbolift.  
  
---  
  
Back on the Gilkarn, Dave smiled to himself as Marrissa disappeared.  
Shouting, "I like this part!", he raced out of the brig, and clotheslined  
down Ath Dralnok. "That's for having a brig on the bridge!"  
  
Dave turned towards the rest of the crew and smiled.  
  
One of the Trakce soldiers was fumbling for his disruptor, but  
Dralnok screamed, "Not on the bridge, you idiot! Take him down with hand-to-  
hand combat!"  
  
The Trakce couldn't quite get a handle on Dave's combat style,  
though as he leapt around the bridge, hopping on consoles, and occassionally  
yelling things like "Whee!" or "I'm being a bad little bunny!".  
  
However, Dave's luck couldn't hold out forever. A Trakce underling  
caught his leg and caused him to trip, smacking his chin on a panel.  
  
In the background, Dave heard Dralnok yell, "No! You've doomed us  
all!"  
  
Chapter Twelve:  
  
"Captain on the bridge!"  
  
Marrissa entered her bridge, and saw Jay move to the first officer  
seat, and state, "You have the conn, Captain."  
  
"Thank you, Commander. Report!"  
  
Ross checked his station, and reported, "The first Trakce ship, the  
Gilkarn has spiralled down into the Nexus. A second one is approaching... and  
firing, Captain!"  
  
"Return fire! Anything else?"  
  
"Aft shield generators are still offline. We are keeping our front to  
the second ship." Jay completed.  
  
"Execute attack pattern Marrissa Zeta Theta Three Kappa!"  
  
"Aye, sir."  
  
"Incoming phaser fire!"  
  
The ship shuddered.  
  
"Direct hit on their primary hull!"  
  
"Sutter here! We're venting some plasma! Don't go to warp for a few  
seconds until I can lock it down!"  
  
"Captain!", Ross shouted. "The Gilkarn has reappeared on our  
sensors, directly aft! There's no way we can protect our unshielded area!"  
  
"Captain, the second ship is launching torpedoes!"  
  
"So is the Gilkarn!", Ross added.  
  
"Can we use the tractor beam to repulse one of the torpedoes?"  
  
"No, it's offline.", Ross responded.  
  
Marrissa knew she only had one option left. She opened the intercom.  
"All hands! Brace for impact!"  
  
The world went white around her.  
  
Chapter Thirteen:  
  
Marrissa was surrounded by white, as far as the eye could see. Before  
her, she saw a being whose face was being obscured by the strength of the  
light behind him.  
  
"Well done, my good and faithful servant," said a familiar and  
sarcastic voice. Marrissa groaned inwardly as Q stepped out of the light. She  
recognized this same approach from an experience her father once told her  
about.  
  
"Sorry, Q, but I don't particularly believe that you're God, either."  
  
"Pity. Perhaps some angels would... no matter. We need to... chat."  
  
"Q, this is hardly the time. My ship..."  
  
"Your ship, your crew," Q interrupted. "Tell me something, do all  
mortals have such pedantic concerns, or just Picards?"  
  
"Q!" Marrissa was rapidly losing patience.  
  
"Don't worry, 'Rissa. All time is stopped right now. You're not even  
aging. All I ask is a few moments of your time."  
  
"Then get on with it, Q!"  
  
"I told you before that the Continuum had its eye on you. Well,  
we'd like to make you an offer."  
  
"An offer?" Marrissa asked skeptically.  
  
"I'll be blunt. We'd like you to join the Q."  
  
"Me? A Q?"  
  
"Think of it, Marrissa. You're worried about your ship? Wipe out  
those two Trakce ships without so much as a thought? Wipe out the entire  
Trakce race! Romulans, Cardassians, whomever would threaten your family,  
friends and crew, all gone! All you have to do is accept, and we'll wipe  
those two ships out and head for the Continuum."  
  
Marrissa was tempted... for about half a second.  
  
"No, Q. Like I said, you aren't God, and I'm not prepared to be,  
either. You like to think of yourself as omnipotent, but humanity has  
something that you don't, and I don't want to lose it. Thanks for the offer,  
but I'd rather be human."  
  
"Even if it meant your death, the death of your family, your crew,  
and even Essex?"  
  
"Yes, even then."  
  
"As you wish."  
  
The world again flashed around her, and if the Bridge crew of the  
Endeavour thought it a little odd that Marrissa was smiling in a life and  
death situation, they were too busy to comment.  
  
Chapter Fourteen:  
  
"The second ship's torpedoes should impact in five... four...  
three..."  
  
Marrissa knew that her ship was going to be hurt. She briefly prayed  
for a miracle.  
  
The front torpedoes impacted the shields, taking them down by fifty-  
five percent.  
  
"Thrusters!" Marrissa ordered. "Turn us around!"  
  
"Aye, sir" responded Alexander.  
  
"No time, Captain!" said Jay. "Torpedoes will hit in 2...1... they  
missed us!"  
  
"That's odd," said Marrissa.  
  
Before she could give another order, the Gilkarn's torpedoes impacted  
the other Trakce ship. As the Trakce's shields were programmed to allow  
Trakce weapons through them, the torpedoes hit the second ship unimpeded.  
  
"The second ship is completely helpless, sir." Ross reported.  
  
"Hail the Gilkarn, Ross."  
  
"They are responding, Captain."  
  
Instead of the scowling visage of Ath Dralnok, the screen lit up to  
show the smiling face of Dave Hines. He was wearing a plethora of Trakce hair  
ribbons.  
  
"Hey, guys! I'm the king of the Trakce! Look at all these ribbons!"  
  
Marrissa exasperatedly shook her head.  
  
"You do know, Mr. Hines, that the Trakce consider that sort of thing  
to be highly sacreligious."  
  
"Oh, you're just jealous, Miss I-don't-care-about-titles."  
  
"Mr. Hines, exactly what happened to the Trakce?"  
  
"I accidentally tripped on a control, and they all disappeared."  
  
Marrissa remembered a previous encounter with the Trakce. "Ah,  
their suicide equipment."  
  
"Personally, I think they just forgot to pay their existence bill."  
  
Marrissa sighed. This man specialized in making no sense whatsoever.  
A beeping sound from Marrissa's chair panel attracted her attention.  
  
"Mr. Lochard," Marrissa ordered. "Lock torpedoes on the Trakce vessel."  
  
"Hey, now!" said a panicked Dave. "It was a joke! You can take a  
joke, right?" Dave's eyes went wide and he started pushing buttons at random.  
  
Alexander reported, "Sir, he's turned on the tractor beam... He's  
snared an asteroid..."  
  
Dave yelped in surprise as the Gilkarn shook beneath him. He fell to  
the floor.  
  
"The asteroid has hit him." Alexander finished with a bemused grin.  
  
"Torpedo passing the Gilkarn," Ross Lochard reported, "and hitting  
the third Trakce vessel."  
  
Dave had picked himself up and heard this. "I knew about them." he  
insisted. "I did."  
  
Ross politely cleared his throat. "Direct hit to their computer core,  
Captain. They've lost everything but minimal impulse, tractors and life-  
support. They're moving to give the second vessel assistance."  
  
Jay Gordon was consulting his screen. "Captain, the Gilkarn is also  
moving towards the second Trakce vessel."  
  
Marrissa looked up at the central viewscreen again. "Mr. Hines, what  
are you doing?"  
  
"You'll see..." came Dave's cryptic response.  
  
"He's firing disruptors," Ross reported. "Scoring strength."  
  
As the Endeavour's crew looked on, Dave proceeded to carve words into  
the Trakce vessel's hull. When he was done, the second Trakce vessel bore the  
inscription, "We lost to one guy in one of our ships." Marrissa felt the  
beginnings of a migraine as a red liquid materialized in the second vessel's  
path and the vessel cruised through it. She had a sick feeling that the  
liquid was strawberry juice.  
  
Suddenly, the sound of one person clapping rang through the bridge.  
In his traditional flash, Q arrived.  
  
"Bravo." he said in a sarcastic voice. Then Q, Marrissa, and Dave all  
disappeared in a flash.  
  
Jay took over. "Shayna, get some engineering and security personnel  
over to the Gilkarn. I suspect we'll get the Captain and Mr. Hines back in  
short order."  
  
Chapter Fifteen:  
  
"I would suppose congratulations are in order."  
  
Dave was a bit dumbfounded by his new surroundings, so Marrissa  
spoke up. "You tried to trick me. If I had accepted your offer, Dave would  
have been wiped out of existence!"  
  
"Oops, I forgot to erase that from your memories. Here you go." Q  
snapped his finger, and a flash appeared briefly over Marrissa's and Dave's  
heads. "Now then, we'll want to make this brief. Since you're not in a  
crisis situation, time is passing."  
  
Dave now spoke up, "Why did you bring me to this time?"  
  
"Too bad Wesley isn't available, he would help in explaining it. No  
matter. I'm sure you both have heard that Wesley is... shall we say...  
'special'." At Dave's and Marrissa's nods, Q continued. "Well, the Q have  
determined that the two of you also fit in that description."  
  
"How?" demanded Marrissa.  
  
"You are just so impatient, Marrissa. Remind me not to bring your  
Christmas present too early. You'll both find out... in time."  
  
"Pardon me," began Dave, "but couldn't I have been special back  
home?"  
  
"Not for too long. Permit me to demonstrate." A vision appeared  
before Marrissa and Dave. Perhaps, more accurately, a window into hell  
appeared before them.  
  
A single madman in power had gained control of a nuclear weapon and  
launched it. Automatic response systems thought deactivated kicked in and  
launched a depleted, but adequate stockpile. Tens of millions died in the  
initial assault. Hundreds of millions more died in the anarchy that followed.  
Dave choked back a sob as the ruins of his home and his school appeared.  
  
The smile was gone from Q's face as even the omnipotent entity seemed  
somewhat ashen. "I did what I could." he said in the faintest of whispers.  
  
A cry of rage welled up from inside Dave, and faster than Marrissa  
thought he could move he struck Q with a right cross directly on the chin.  
Surprisingly, Q allowed it and fell down.  
  
"You..." Dave choked, "everything I knew is gone! What do I do now?!"  
  
Marrissa laid a hand on his shoulder. "You build something new."  
  
Q was back up. "You mortals do seem to be good at that." He snapped  
his fingers and Dave and Marrissa were gone again.  
  
Chapter Sixteen:  
  
Dave reappeared on the bridge of the Gilkarn as Marrissa reappeared  
on the bridge of the Endeavour. Since the two ships were still in contact  
with each other, they saw each other appear.  
  
Martin was on the bridge of the Gilkarn and steadied Dave as he  
faltered a bit. "Are you alright?"  
  
"I'll be fine," Dave replied, wiping his eye and sitting in the  
Captain's chair.  
  
Shayna entered the bridge of the Gilkarn. "Good news! I tapped into  
the computer banks of this thing, and they've accumulated a good deal of  
data on the Nexus as well. I'm transmitting it now."  
  
Back on the Endeavour's bridge, Ross responded, "Thanks, Shayna. We  
are receiving." He paused. "Captain, the computer says we have enough data  
to complete our mission with the addition of the Trakce data."  
  
Marrissa settled down in her chair. "Then it looks like we're going  
home to talk things over with Starfleet, and then coming back to stop this  
thing from hitting Essex!"  
  
"One problem, Marrissa," Jay said, "what do we do with the Gilkarn?"  
  
"We take her with us! They abandoned the ship... sort of... and that  
makes it mine under maritime law!" Dave suggested.  
  
"Nice try, Dave, but the legal system no longer works that way."  
  
"Well, the idea of bringing her back with us is appealing." Jay said.  
  
"The Trakce diplomatic corps would blow their tops over that one."  
Marrissa replied.  
  
"And if they had diplomatic ties with the Federation, that would mean  
something." Dave rejoined.  
  
"They don't." confirmed Jay.  
  
"Then it looks like the Starfleet Engineering Corps gets a new toy  
to reverse-engineer until the diplomats sort the whole thing out." Marrissa  
remarked. "Shayna, set the transponder codes so we don't get attacked by our  
side on the way in, then set course for Earth. Endeavour out."  
  
On the Gilkarn, Dave tugged his shirt down, sat in the middle chair  
and confidently said, "Engage!"  
  
Shayna simply looked back at him like he was a lunatic and continued  
to operate the navigational console.  
  
Martin leaned close to Dave and whispered, "She's kind of cute, isn't  
she?"  
  
Dave considered for a moment and responded, "I really hadn't noticed.  
She's a little young for me."  
  
The sun glinted off of the Endeavour and the Gilkarn as they made  
their way home.  
  
  
Epilogue 1:  
  
  
Ensign McLees was bored. The Endeavour had just left on a classified  
mission, and a civilian's runabout was about to depart. He hated civilian  
boats. "Docking control to Sol," he began.  
  
A testy voice responded, "That's S.O.L."  
  
(Writer's note: The story of the Endeavour continues in "Generations  
2: Generations Ahead" by Anne-Lise Pasch.)  
  
McLees decided it wasn't worth the effort of arguing. "We're seeing  
some peculiar energy readings from your ship."  
  
A different voice responded, "We... um... dropped the toaster."  
  
In the background, another voice hissed, "That's stupid!"  
  
The first voice said, "Sorry!"  
  
McLees considered asking to leave early and report to sickbay for a  
migraine treatment as the runabout shimmered, and seemed to reform into a  
large cartoonish dog bone.  
  
"Now departing," reported the S.O.L.  
  
McLees left to go find his supervisor.  
  
Aboard the runabout, Dave whooped in happiness. A reward for helping  
to capture a Trakce ship, as well as a contract to be interviewed by the  
Federation Historical Society went a long way. He now owned a civilian  
runabout with his own special touches.  
  
"Steady as she goes, Gypsy!" he ordered. He turned to two other  
robots that he had created with the aid of the replicator. "How about a  
movie, guys?"  
  
The two robots, a red one and a golden one, began screaming.  
  
"You told us we wouldn't have to put up with those anymore, Dave!"  
screamed the red one.  
  
"No, Tom. I meant a *good* movie. How about those Star Wars prequels?  
Never got to see those."  
  
"Fine with me! No more bad movies!" whooped Crow, the other robot.  
  
"Gypsy," Dave ordered a larger purple robot. "Second star to the  
right and straight on 'till morning!"  
  
"Dave, never quote Star Trek VI again!" shouted Tom.  
  
"Sorry. Sorry."  
  
The Satellite of Love flew through space.  
  
Epilogue 2  
  
Time passed. After an incident with the Nexus and Q, Jay finally  
proposed to Marrissa, and Alexander proposed to Clara. The wedding on Essex  
was the social event of the season. Dave was pleased to find a request to  
attend in his messages, as well as a request to do something else.  
  
At the reception, Dave was finishing a song he had learned from his  
time. "...and time goes by... so slowly... and time can do so much... are  
you still mine? I need your love... I need your love... God speed your  
love... to me..."  
  
Jay and Marrissa looked into each other's eyes with love as they  
danced to the song.  
  
"And, now to get this party rocking for our happy couples, here's  
something a bit more up-tempo! 1-2-3!"  
  
The background vocalists sang, "Good Love! Good Love!"  
  
After the song, Dave said "Best of luck, Jay, Marrissa, Clara and  
Alex!" The party raged long into the night.  
  
THE END 


End file.
